I had originally thought I would just leave this message in the other thread that I wrote it but having thought about it more I decided I would throw it up on its own. I would like to get the rest of the community thoughts and perhaps refine things to find a way to make it work.
Please attempt to read the whole post before responding
Ok I know it is not likely happen but one of the only reasons I stuck with UO back in the day was the counselor system, yes knowing about Stratics would have helped too I agree, but it was the fact that if I was lost or confused I could page, and someone would show up and talk me through things.
I know I know they ran into problems with scheduling volunteers and $ and things...
Blah blah blah it was a volunteer program and they don't wanna run back into that problem again. So perhaps just make it a new part of game play. A new option if you will.
I really don't think that should be an issue here is a simple solution.
Proposal
Any one with an account over *Shrugs* a year, or something
Problems this helps to address
Issues this might create
Again I know this is highly unlikely to happen but if you set up the system from the beginning so it is COMPLETELY voluntary, other then forwarding things to the GMs, or perhaps keeping the peace at EM events, there is no interaction with the staff. Then you can avoid the problems of our past.
Honestly I'd gladly forfeit a character slot to help out and I would play far more then I do now. The community is why I used to play it feels so dead to me now, especially with the advent of team speak and vent, its sad. I think the cost of a character slot would be a fine price to pay to participate in such a noble cause. It would be a game play choice not a service your providing to the company.
Please once your done with reading my proposal take the time to form your responses so that they are useful to the Devs if they read this don't just say yay or nay, actually I'll make this a poll for that.
Please attempt to read the whole post before responding
Ok I know it is not likely happen but one of the only reasons I stuck with UO back in the day was the counselor system, yes knowing about Stratics would have helped too I agree, but it was the fact that if I was lost or confused I could page, and someone would show up and talk me through things.
I know I know they ran into problems with scheduling volunteers and $ and things...
Blah blah blah it was a volunteer program and they don't wanna run back into that problem again. So perhaps just make it a new part of game play. A new option if you will.
I really don't think that should be an issue here is a simple solution.
Proposal
Any one with an account over *Shrugs* a year, or something
1. Let them make a counselor.
2. Do not allow them to effect the world at all, they would walk through doors like a ghost and could not pick things up.
3. Do not allow them to turn invisible.
4. Let them respond to pages all kinds of pages including GM pages
5. Let them pass the legit pages that require a GM on to he GM's most of our players know what these are better then the GMs do.
6. Let them suggest punishment *Gasp* I'm not saying a singe person gets to ban someone or something I'm saying if its a griefing issue or something make 3 of them or more if you want be present and have the page system completely random it picks 3 available people, maybe not even just form one server maybe let um server hop or something somehow, I believe our GMs that don't know the game do this any way, to pass judgment then they as a group would write up a single official report and send it to the GM to actually make what ever needs to happen happen.
2. Do not allow them to effect the world at all, they would walk through doors like a ghost and could not pick things up.
3. Do not allow them to turn invisible.
4. Let them respond to pages all kinds of pages including GM pages
5. Let them pass the legit pages that require a GM on to he GM's most of our players know what these are better then the GMs do.
6. Let them suggest punishment *Gasp* I'm not saying a singe person gets to ban someone or something I'm saying if its a griefing issue or something make 3 of them or more if you want be present and have the page system completely random it picks 3 available people, maybe not even just form one server maybe let um server hop or something somehow, I believe our GMs that don't know the game do this any way, to pass judgment then they as a group would write up a single official report and send it to the GM to actually make what ever needs to happen happen.
Problems this helps to address
1. GM wait time... Honestly most of the things I hear people paging about are simple things with housing that a more knowledgeable player could help them deal with. Councilors could be there in a matter of min if its something they cant handle they can pass it on to another Counselor or pass it on to the GMs if need be.
2. It would reduce griefing if active players are helping to police the shards and passing only legit things on to the GMs we all win.
3. It could serve as a deterrent for scripting and hacking in the same way.
4. It would make our increasingly complicated game more accessible to new players.
5. It would bring back a sense of community.
6. They could help perhaps keep crowds in line at events somehow perhaps through 120 second squelching that only works if 2 -3 o them use it on you in the course of 60 seconds or something.
7. Would provide bored old timers with something constructive to do to make the "Wold" a better place.
8. It could also be used to help pinpoint bugs and issues more quickly as most of us old timers know how to pick things apart when problems pop up.
9. It would reduce the workload on the over worked GMs that don't really understand the game and would give them feed back form us as to how the game works.
10. This would provide players with a greater sense of "Customer Service" yes it would be provided by customers but I don't believe that any ones going to mind that.
2. It would reduce griefing if active players are helping to police the shards and passing only legit things on to the GMs we all win.
3. It could serve as a deterrent for scripting and hacking in the same way.
4. It would make our increasingly complicated game more accessible to new players.
5. It would bring back a sense of community.
6. They could help perhaps keep crowds in line at events somehow perhaps through 120 second squelching that only works if 2 -3 o them use it on you in the course of 60 seconds or something.
7. Would provide bored old timers with something constructive to do to make the "Wold" a better place.
8. It could also be used to help pinpoint bugs and issues more quickly as most of us old timers know how to pick things apart when problems pop up.
9. It would reduce the workload on the over worked GMs that don't really understand the game and would give them feed back form us as to how the game works.
10. This would provide players with a greater sense of "Customer Service" yes it would be provided by customers but I don't believe that any ones going to mind that.
Issues this might create
1. I could see people attempting to use these characters to monitor things like spawns.
Ways to deal with that
a. As suggested above don't allow them to be invisible.
b. Allow them to pass the same sorts of judgments on each other, so if they do that and someone reports them another one would pop up and call the others to pass judgment on to a GM
c. some how limit how far the are allowed to wander form the paging player.
a. As suggested above don't allow them to be invisible.
b. Allow them to pass the same sorts of judgments on each other, so if they do that and someone reports them another one would pop up and call the others to pass judgment on to a GM
c. some how limit how far the are allowed to wander form the paging player.
Again I know this is highly unlikely to happen but if you set up the system from the beginning so it is COMPLETELY voluntary, other then forwarding things to the GMs, or perhaps keeping the peace at EM events, there is no interaction with the staff. Then you can avoid the problems of our past.
Honestly I'd gladly forfeit a character slot to help out and I would play far more then I do now. The community is why I used to play it feels so dead to me now, especially with the advent of team speak and vent, its sad. I think the cost of a character slot would be a fine price to pay to participate in such a noble cause. It would be a game play choice not a service your providing to the company.
Please once your done with reading my proposal take the time to form your responses so that they are useful to the Devs if they read this don't just say yay or nay, actually I'll make this a poll for that.
